9/11 first responder shares 'best and worst' things they saw after spending 1000 hours on site
Dan Seddon
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Spencer Platt
A first responder working at the September 11, 2001 disaster site in New York City has come forward with some stories from that horrendous day.
It's now almost a quarter of a century since terrorist organisation al-Qaeda sent 19 of its members to hijack four commercial planes across the US, flying two into the Twin Towers and a third into the Pentagon, while the fourth - believed to be headed towards either the White House or the Capitol Building - was steered into a rural field in Pennsylvania, thanks to its heroic passengers.
In light of the tragedy's anniversary, we're looking back at Reddit user @Hot_Day_2137's AMA forum from six months ago, where he invited people to enquire about his experiences at the ground level.
Advert
"What was the best and worst thing you saw? Thank you for your service!" read one of the many questions.
The 9/11 first responder went on to write back: "The best? The City, the country and the world coming together. There was no division in our country like it is today.
"The worst was people taking pictures with cameras (very rare to have cellphones back then) with Ground Zero in the background smiling," he noted. "Over 3,000 people died in a public and horrific manner and people wanted to take group pictures. Simply hated seeing that."
Meanwhile, a separate user was keen to gain clarity on what the term 'human remains' really means when it comes to the rescue effort.
"This is morbid but I’ve always been curious what they mean when they say remains," they shared. "I just can’t wrap my head around how bodies could survive a building crushing down on them. Can you explain more on that? Was there entire bodies recovered? Or was it just very small parts/limbs?"
Replying to this query, the AMA instigator explained: "Remains primarily means body parts for identification for the family so they can properly grieve.
"If body parts can’t be found, personal property is next and hopefully identified for the family. I saw so many [World Trade Center] ID tags with names and pictures of people while at the landfill. I remember when I was first at the landfill it was so hard to look for remains that I was wondering to myself why are we even here?" they revealed.
"Then one day we were at the cafeteria tent, taking a break, and then a whole bunch of family members of the victims came and thanked us for being there. And then I knew why we had to be there."
On the day of those horrific attacks, US news outlets flocked to the scene to snatch any footage they could of the devastating aftermath.
ABC 7 interviewed a guy who'd been in one of the towers when it was struck. Covered in dust and debris, he confirmed on camera that he was the 72nd floor.
Distracted, the man subsequently looked to his left as the camera captured his very tower crumbling before them.
"Incredible, to see your workplace, a place where you spent thousands of hours just turn to dust," wrote one person on Reddit when the interview re-emerged online.
"I just can't imagine how he felt," shared somebody else. "I'm sure he thought about all the people he passed on his way down that had stopped to rest, the people from his floor that he worked with, the rescuers who were going up as he was coming down. Just awful."